spook

Gollob is an absolute legend and is probably the best rider never to win a world championship...... and is certainly the most talented rider of our generation.... his bad boy past has become more of a distant memory and along with the Brits he is the guy I cheer for the most.............. but i'm seriously going to have to reconsider that as last night was a disgraceful move Yes Tomasz chooses lines that others dont and it quite often involves an unorthadox diamond shape but it was clear to see last night that he clocked AJ coming up his inside and then simply turned left on him halfway down the straight.... very naughty p.s. Carter was stitched........ by Dunlops and Chips

great stuff Eddie and David

yeah I did miss david howe out because I was trying to look at things realistically..... he has already been at the top level for several years averaging the same amount and being home biased with his average on the whole.... I think it is doubtful he is going to make the leap to top quality... just my peronal opinion....... I missed out others who either progress too slowly or have levelled out The thing is that it is very difficult to say who is going to make it and who isnt..... werent a lot of people saying Lewis bridger was a nailed on cert for world champion a couple of seasons ago? I dont think there are many saying he is a 'cert' at the moment.............as you rightly point out bomber is not in the same category he used to be (with howe, stead, neath etc) lol remind me how old Steve Boxall is? The biggest crimes to his name are being a lightening gater, doing relatively well in the world u21 champs, doing well with his similarly aged peers ........ ok the real crimes are choosing to stay down for another season last year and not stamping his authority. There are questions over Steve but they have nothing to do with 'missing the boat'..... he has a good amount of time yet before that is determined! The fact that we can actually talk about the future fortunes of the guys because they are just a handful speaks volumes for me. If we had more home grown riders in our leagues the woffindens, bridgers, complins and kenny carters would be the cream of the effortless crop while a number of guys like bomber and jeremy doncaster graft to get there......... there just isnt enough support or competition

I seriously doubt that there will be any kind of 'storm' for quite some years dungoid look at the Poles and they have 7+ riders who would not be out of place in the GP's look at the Danes and they have 6 look at the Aussies and they have 4 The Swedes are going through a funk but they have youngsters on the way what do we have currently and what is coming through? This is the thing that gets right on my wick as promoters know full well that we are not healthy in numbers ... they chose to adopt an approach to resolve it and then change it as soon as it is gaining results The answer to what we have is Chris Harris, Simon Stead, Edward Kennett, Lewis Bridger, James Wright, Daniel King, Ollie Allen and Steve Boxall at EL level Tai Woffinden, William Lawson, Ben Barker, Adam Roynon, Josh Auty, Rob Mear, Ben Wilson, Andrew Tully at PL level Now I dont want to go through each one individually but first of all how many can actually gate well and consistently? discard the rest Then how many will end up taking the easier PL rides choosing money over ambition.... discard that % Then how many will gain the professionalism and sponsorship required for the very top level?.... discard the ones that wont imo realistically no more than three of all of those guys will reach the required standard for the GP's...... and that is not talking about how well they will actually do at that standard I'm the first in line to put on the silly GB afro wig but the future is still not looking bright and it wont be until promoters see the wider picture rather than who they can get in on 5's

indeed why does he persevere with this type of track when he is only going to end up making it slick? I'm starting to think that he doesnt have much influence over what the tracks will be but please someone change his responsibilities because I am starting to agree with subedei over something and that is worrying me ...... it makes absolutely no sense to purposely serve up slick, bare tracks at the likes of leszno, bydgoscsz and Prague etc etc..... and yet he consistently does it ..... it is rubbish as a spectacle and it suits too few riders......... who incidentally and strangely come from his part of the world

Scott actually has a relatively good record at reaching semi's but this just highlights the problem for me. He doesnt make many finals because he always only just squeezes into the semi after dramatically improved 4th and 5th rides and gets a duff gate pick. Why does he start gp's with poor setups? From that moment on he is chasing the right setup and makes life difficult for himself. The frequency that this happens is pretty astounding and things are just not right in his camp Of course it also doesnt help that he is not the best gater and manages to gate even worse when he is on the better performing gate. I'm a big Scotty fan when he is at the top of his game and the machinery is right..... despite him usually having to do it from the back while I shout at the tv!..... but I do wonder at the professionalism over the last couple of seasons and whether standards and preparation have dropped or not

I agree with some of what you are saying Rob....... such as should Andreas have been riding in the first place? but......... imo yes the track did cause it......... andreas is a dying breed of rider where he is looking for the dirt, looking to blast around the outside and isnt scared of hanging off the bike to do it............... this is the kind of speedway we want to see isnt it?? The track clearly rutted after 4 heats and became more dangerous as the event went on... which could clearly be seen clearly with AJ's and Greg's incidents........ and the majority of the riders looked like they were walking on eggshells for the whole of 3 and 4...... this clearly should not be happening For me this track sums up well the problem that is at the highest level of the sport (and the most visible in the media!) ....... we are slowly losing the Loram's, Gollob's and Jonsson's because of the trend for slick tracks...... I still struggle to see why a slick track is preferred when the world is watching and the sport needs fans and money

Ole is the race director is he not? Lets not pretend that the guy is not in charge of the track preps............. if he chooses to delegate that is up to him but he is still ultimately in charge...... now that you mention it...the question of the swedish debacle should be why did the local guys take the rap when they were working for Ole? Speedway fans will always have to take the rough with the smooth while limited funds are in the coffers of the organisers........... Cardiff was a very pleasant suprise..... but there have been far too many cases of needless slick tracks and bad prep in recent years and questions should be asked or it will carry on..... especially after the track last night

I think it is pretty difficult to turn what has been a consistent performer of a track down the years into one that rutted, had a deceiving top surface and had little grip in the right places....... no track should rut after 4 heats (even temporary!) and bend 4 quite frankly was dangerous I am guessing that Ole Olsen was responsible and it is high time that he carried the can for some of these awful tracks ......... they are a bad advert for the sport and unsubtley usually suit the danes The only thing that was got right last night was a good spread across the gates ..... but even then there were only 2 gates that were working at any given time (nicki p excepted)

that is an insult to 'hobos'

imho it is crucial whether it is a slick track or not tonight........ I will be fully 100% behind the boys tonight but on paper the Swedes are far better gaters.........and it is bound to level things out for the other two teams as well............. if another Vojens is served up the Brits may have to get some practice in at Leszno before the final

lol did you just try to 'son' me? like I said school playground stuff you were calling for Middlo's head on a platter before the event in just the same ridiculous way that you are now.... I would have thought that you might have learned a lesson If after the event you can produce a sound argument based on realistic stats over the years then you might gain some respect.... until then your posts are aimed at nothing more than trolling and attention seeking

Vega why do your posts always come across as if they were written in the playground? You were wrong last season and made yourself look a plank......... and yet here you are back for more desperately attempting to build up the pressure The boys will do as well as they can and unless Middlo decides to not do his job then I am sure that the team will get the same commitment from a guy who has consistently had to make do with injury hit teams taken from understrength squads I am certain that if rankings were drawn up based on the riders league performances that GB would be ranked 5th........... on that basis anything better has been a good performance .....as has been shown season after season in recent years be careful what you wish for

argh! truly awful

All hail the Bomber! amazing, incredible, spectacular............. with riders like Loramski and Tomasz going out of fashion and the tracks changing slowly as a result we needed someone to come along to inject some racing with a never say die attitude This GP performance i'm sure will be remembered for a very long time and I should imagine that if BSI had a league table of most valuable riders in their crown Bomber would be right up there with Crumpy and Nicki......... and hopefully this will have an effect on the track preps well done Chris

driving back home last night at about 4am my ears pricked up when the Radio 5 guy welcomed someone from the Welsh Daily ........ his top story for the day was understandable ... something along the lines of 'Wales alert' after the recent terrorism goings on........... he even spoke about how Cardiff could be a prime target and that the city police were on high alert.... I cant remember his other stories as I think the red bull combined with the cats eyes had put me in a trance but not a squeek about how a Brit won the Brit GP in front of what looked like easily the biggest crowd the Millenium have had for speedway I can understand the lack of coverage when like most other sports the 'plucky brits' fail to impress and allow others to take the glory......... but even an unfashionable sport usually has some light shone on it if a Brit comes to the fore

that all depends who prepares the track ..... if they listen to Ole and the way he wants it prepared and if we take guys who can ride a slick inside line and a grippy outside line ironically the guy that worries me the most with moving from supposed white line safety is Rico but with Bomber, Simon, Scott and Ed we have 4 guys who dont mind seeking the dirt their gating, the fans and atmosphere are more likely to be a threat to them

Form is temporary class is permanent I cannot believe that so many of you are hoping that Rico is dropped...........my memory may be faltering here but I thought he had been one of our better performers in the SWC in recent years..... if not the best yes his form is up and down this season ...but better someone who is capable of beating the best than someone who isnt ............ the team is already likely to have three relatively new guys to the team in Bomber, Simon Stead (unless Simon doesnt pick up his form) and the likes of David Howe or Eddie.............. imo it makes no sense to have only one well SWC experienced guy in the team or it could crumble more easily

Cutting through the bs posturing, points scoring and vendettas ...... zzzzzz It was superb to see Bomber go like the clappers and have a successful night ........... as much as it was suprising to see an out of sorts Gollob on a night and track setup which would normally see him rise to the top. The simple truth is though that Bomber will not have many nights like this throughout the rest of the GP series .......... the track completely suited him, his bike appeared to be setup perfectly and his slower gating was not punished..................... looking ahead to man made tracks and slick ole olsen tracks the odds are that he is going to struggle unless he gets his gating boots on I am certain that Jarek Hampel will qualify as of right come the end of the season but as per previous seasons competition for the final qualifying places will be hot.......make no mistake scott and chris will be there along with the other poles......... if anything tells in the end it will be injury and the level of financial backing

you ignore my point what you are saying is that just because a guy pootled around at the back, his zero is worth more than the guy who fell while trying to gain or defend points i'm saying that of course this is a nonsense and that all 'zero's should be treated equally and there is the argument here that they dont actually 'have' to split anything.....especially when it gets to the ridiculous state of 'grading' zero's and giving priority to those who did better last season...................what happened to run offs?

so for instance if Andreas jonsson and antonio lindback had been tieing for points to get into the semi tonight (impossible I know as one was CL standard and the other has a broken wrist)....... you would be backing the guy who was woefully tailed off at the back and easy meat no matter what gate he was on........rather than the guy who was excluded while trying hard to pass someone? I don't see how this rule can be included ........and I also think the number on the back of the jacket rule is a complete joke too but I won't begrudge Hans his qualification to the semi as there was a race where he completely blew one bend and could easily have given up and pulled off the track.......

Taken from FIM rules for the Speedway GP world championship http://www.fim.ch/EN/rules/Sportifs/ccpGP/2007/077_en.pdf page 24 so well done witches vs hammers and Ewa........... although imo the rule is a bit of a joke as a zero is a zero also spotted this which is a bit alarming: Page 24

but that isnt the same is it? that is overall points and something that doesnt matter at all until following the last GP of the season. This is something which matters a lot as was demonstrated with Hans 7 extra points ................ My understanding of the rules is that it is done by countback on wins, 2nds, 3rds and lasts............. then by who beat who If they have started to do it by GP ranking from the previous season then what is the point of having wildcards? They should either start off equal or not be included at all imo It also seems to me that it would be a great advantage over a season considering how many times ties happen in these circumstances

I take it that was a sarcastic post Ewa? Surely a zero is a zero no matter how it was achieved?

the nature of just how far behind he was tonight says a lot ........ not to mention a duck and only 3 from the last GP serious issues in the Lindback camp